Positive
by MoriartyandHisTardis
Summary: I stare down at the small piece of plastic in my hand and feel my whole world fall apart / A story about Jerome, Mara and a mishap which turns their lives upside down. Rated T for future violence, mature themes and sexual situations.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello my dears :3 welcome to my new story, 'Positive'. It mostly focuses on Jerome and Mara however there are other couples in it as well! I started writing this before KT and Willow were introduced but it's set after Nina left. I'll probably be updating it once a week and I'll be dating each chapter so that we can keep track of what's happening at what time. Hope you enjoy the first chapter.**

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I stare down at the small piece of plastic in my hand and feel my whole world fall apart. In one second everything I had ever known was cruelly ripped away from me, leaving me vunerable and raw. All the futures I had imagined for myself, all the plans, all of my dreams and hopes lay shattered around my feet. One word changed all of that. One word caused all of this.

Positive.

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**September 5th 2012 **

"Alfie! Give me that back!" I yell breathlessly, chasing the dark haired boy around the field at the front of Anubis House.

"Make me." He growls in an almost Jerome like way. I just laugh at him and dart forward quickly, arms outstretched, attempting to grab my shoe off Alfie.

Suddenly I feel a pair of long arms wrap tightly around my waist, lifting my feet off the floor and swinging me around.

"Run Lewis!" Jerome says loudly, turning and running away, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Jerome!" I shout indignantly, slapping his back.

"Thanks mate!" Alfie yells, voice getting quieter as he runs towards the house. Jerome spins around a few times before setting me down on my feet and leaning down to kiss my lips softly. I pull away and meet his sparkling eyes, laughing lightly as he pulls me towards him. His strong arms wrap around my back and anchor me to him. Not that I would ever want to move anyway.

We stand staring in each others eyes for a few moments, love and warmth radiating off the two of us. I smile gently and reach up to twist my fingers through his soft hair. He leans his head into my hand and softly kisses my nose, trailing his fingers along the edge of my jaw.

"I love you Mara." He whispers passionately, pressing a warm kiss on my lips. I kiss him back eagerly and tighten my fingers in his hair, leaning into the curve of his body. We deepen the kiss and he slips his tongue into my mouth, eliciting a soft moan from me. His mouth tastes of Trudy's chocolate cake and he smells of freshly mown grass and chocolate. His sweet smell slips into my brain and clouds it as our tongues furiously battle for dominance. Jerome is in charge now, as he always is.

His hand leaves my face and trails down my body, making me shiver as his long slender fingers brush my hips. My top rides up slightly and his hand settles there on the top of my hip bone, warmth seeping into my body from where he is touching my bare skin.

We stay like that for a while before his hand trails down my leg and pulls up my knee, wrapping my leg around his waist. I hitch myself up and wrap my other leg around him, settling myself on his hips. He backs into a tree and I lean against it as he breaks away from my mouth and kisses lightly down my neck.

"God, I love you." He growls, meeting my eyes and leaning forward to kiss me again. We pull apart and gaze into each others eyes. His blue eyes are shining brightly and when I look into them, it's like I'm staring into his soul. The blue of his eyes is like the sea, turbulent, rough and usually icy cold. Except for when he looks at me. His eyes are soft and warm like ice that has thawed and melted. His eyes are the bluest of blues, some days they are as deep as the colour of the sea. A dark blue that commands attention and draws me into them, keeping me locked within his gaze. Other times they are blue like the the sky, light and transparent, and when I look into then I feel like I'm seeing right through him. Straight through all the layers into Jerome. Kind, warm-hearted, lovely Jerome.

Suddenly I feel something whack against my head and I cry out in pain, tears naturally springing to my eyes. Jerome places me back onto the floor and I see my shoe next to my feet. I slip it back onto my foot and rub my head softly.

"Sorry Mara!" Alfie yells over to me, jogging towards us, "I didn't mean to hit you so hard." Jerome looks anxiously towards me, as if he is waiting for my reaction. His hand clenches tightly in mine but I just smile at Alfie and hug him when he finally gets over to us."It's okay." I say, my voice slightly muffled into his shoulder.

Alfie lets go of me so I take Jerome's hand and the three of us walk back to the house, chatting idly about the past day, school and predictably, about Amber. 'Amfie' was at an awkward stage at the moment. Amber liked Alfie much more than he liked her so he felt it was unfair to go out with her. So, he broke up with her. But now he likes her a lot and she likes him a lot but Alfie doesn't have the courage to ask her out again.

Jerome repeats the same advice that he says every time, "Just ask her out. The worst that will happen is that she'll say no."

"I don't think she will though. She really likes you Alfie." I put in, reassuring rubbing Alfie's shoulder.

"I just don't want her to reject me." He replies dejectedly, head slumping down.

"Hey mate, chin up. She won't reject you. You're 'The Amazing Alfredo'.. How could she?" Jerome says smiling at his best mate. Alfie grins widely back at him and I wrap my arms around both of their shoulders. Jerome slips his arm around my waist and Alfie does the same, the two of them lifting me off the ground. I burst out laughing as they run forward and we burst through the front door, overbalancing and falling flat on our faces. We all groan and roll onto our backs, laughing and joking around. I quickly capture Jerome's lips in a kiss and a blinding flash brightens the room. Amber is stood above us, holding her pink digital camera proclaiming that the photo she just took is going in the 'Jara' scrapbook. Good grief.

Alfie stands up and turns to face Amber taking her hand in his.

"Amber Millington will you go out with me. I know I've made mistakes and I haven't been the best boyfriend but.. Will you go out with me?"

"Of course I will boo!" Amber replies, wrapping her arms around Alfie's neck and kissing him enthusiastically on the lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: hello again my dears! Now, some of you have been asking about the plot of the story and abortions and such. All I can say is... Just wait and see :3 by the way I've tried my best to correct spelling mistakes but my iPhone autocorrect makes it pretty difficult :L I hope you like the chapter!:D**

**P.S. I just wanted to address what one reviewer said. They thought that the kiss was a bit too sexual and it kind of was but I just wanted to show from the beginning that this isn't all cutesy Jerome and Mara, it's also sexual tension Jerome and Mara.**

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**Saturday 5th September 2012**

Jerome stands up and claps his hand on Alfie's shoulder saying, "Congratulations mate." He then reaches down and takes my hand, pulling me to my feet then wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Yay! We can double date!" Amber says excitably, kissing Alfie on the cheek before taking his hand and dragging him away saying, "Come on boo, it's time to work on our scrapbook."

I turn and look up at Jerome, smiling widely at my gorgeous boyfriend. The two of us stroll into the living room and he throws himself down into the sofa. I sit down next to him with my legs over his. We both grab books off the coffee table and begin to read, occasionally meeting each others gaze and smiling before returning to our stories.

After a while of reading in companionable silence I glance at the clock and see that the hands have ticked past 4.00pm. It's homework time. Most people would think I'm out of my mind doing homework on a Saturday but Jerome doesn't. He understands that I have a routine and I stick by things like deadlines and curfews. That's why I'm never in trouble with Victor, because I never break curfew. Well.. Maybe once or twice but most of the time I stick to the rules.

My simple routine is relax for the day then, between 3:30pm and 4:30pm, start completing my homework in order of which deadline is the closest. I usually have all my work done by dinner at 6:30pm, especially when I work with Jerome.

He looks up and notices me watching the clock, standing up and placing his book carefully back down on the table. I copy him, taking his hand and leaving the room to collect my things from upstairs. Jerome leaves me for a few minutes to go get his homework out of his room and I ascend the stairs quickly, my mind already organising what subjects we need to concentrate on and roughly how long we need to spend on each piece. I open the door to our room and see Patricia snuggled up to Eddie, bowl of popcorn balanced in her lap and a laptop balanced in his. The two of them stare at the screen then laugh along with the evil villain as, from what I can hear, somebody gets their head chopped off.

"Aw this film is not violent enough to be an eighteen." Patricia complains, slumping against Eddie's shoulder.

"You're watching an eighteen?" I ask incredulously, wondering how on earth the managed to get the DVD.

"It isn't that scandalous Mara." Eddie says, shrugging and focusing his attention on the screen again.

"Yeah and I'm sure you've never done anything.. Underage." Patricia continues. I feel a light flush spread across my cheeks before I grab my homework things and stalk out of the room. I don't bother to contradict Patricia because even though we haven't done anything.. We are planning to...

But I'm innocent for now and I wouldn't dream of rushing into anything. Jerome and I have both agreed that we'll do /it/ when we feel ready. It doesn't matter if we feel ready tomorrow or in a few years time. We want to make sure this is perfect. After all, you only lose your virginity once.

I can't believe Patricia accused me of that. I know for a fact that her and Eddie have had sex multiple times but I don't make her feel embarrassed about it. I can't believe that she had the nerve to say that to me.

If Jerome sees that I'm bothered by something then he'll want to know what's going on and we'd end up having the awkward 'when do you want to do it' conversation that we have had a million times before. It isn't that Jerome is trying to pressure me into it, he just loves me so much and he wants to show how much he loves me. I feel the exact same way but I don't feel ready. I don't think either of us are.

I walk down the stairs slowly and make sure that I am composed before I enter the living room. Jerome is already sitting at the dinner table with his homework arranged in a neat pile next to him.

"What took you so long Jaffray?" Jerome asks, taking my hand and pulling me towards the seat next to him, kissing me lightly on the forehead as he picks up his pen.

"Nothing." I reply softly, placing my pencil case onto the table.

"So, what's first?" He says with a smirk.

"History." I reply, pulling my thick textbook out of my bag and leafing through it until I find page 27. "Rationing in WW2." I say, opening my history book and jotting down the title. I make notes on useful sources that show the various effects of rationing and how rationing affected morale and the general happiness of people in the time. I finish in around 15 minutes and then see that Jerome is just rounding off his last point.

"Chemistry next." I say, pulling out an A3 sheet and answering all the questions on exothermic and endothermic reactions. Jerome finishes his science before I do so he starts the trigonometry paper. The two of us work on it in companionable silence, occasionally muttering formulas and calculations to ourselves. I finish the trig paper and check my answers. I got full marks.

I then reach into my bag and pull out my script, quickly reading over my lines again. Jerome stands up and takes me by the hand, leading me into the open section in the living room. We quickly act through our scene before falling onto the sofa and relaxing next to each other.

"Dinner's ready!" Trudy yells, beckoning Jerome and I over. Together we clear away our homework things and set the table with cutlery. Amber and Alfie are the first to arrive, sitting down next to each other at the far end of the table, Alfie at the head of the table and Amber to his right. I sit down next to Amber and Jerome sits next to me, taking my hand in his as we watch Trudy bring the food through.

"So what has 'Jara' been up to this afternoon?" Amber asks, reaching to grab a plate off the pile and place it down in front of her.

"Just reading and homework." I reply shrugging as I spoon some peas onto my plate. Jerome and Alfie quickly begin to discuss why zombie attack 3 is better than zombie attack 4.

"We have to double date some time." Amber says, picking at her salmon and turning to face me.

"That would be nice." I reply with a smile, "Wouldn't it Jerome."

"What?" He asks, turning to look at us with a confused expression on his face.

"A double date with Jara and Alber." Amber answers excitably. Jerome nods and then slyly kisses my cheek.

"Alber?" Alfie asks, looking confused.

"You and me." Amber says, as if explaining to a child.

"But I thought we were Amfie!" Alfie protests.

"Amfie is so last year boo."

Luckily, the two of them are interrupted from their pointless argument by Joy storming in with a seething Patricia behind her.

"Girls, calm down." Eddie says, attempting to soothe his girlfriend.

"Bad move American." Jerome whispers to Eddie.

"I can't believe you did that again.. After last time!" Joy yells at Patricia.

"Why can't you just learn to knock?" Patricia retorts.

"It's my room too you know!" Joy cries, exasperated.

"Why can't you just give us a little privacy!"

"Why can't you just keep your clothes on!" Joy screams back.

Suddenly a deathly hush passes over everyone. Then it clicks with me.

"You walked in on her and Eddie?" I ask.

"Again..." Joy replies, with a sigh.

"Don't look at me like that." Patricia says angrily, "We weren't doing anything."

"But if Joy hadn't interrupted.." Jerome says with a smirk.

"Shut up slimeball, I know that you and Mara would be all over each other if you had the chance!" Patricia snarls, glaring at the two of us.

Patricia's words feel like a punch in the stomach and I stand up quickly.

"I'm not hungry anymore." I half-whisper, walking away from the table.

I'm almost in the hall when I hear Joy yell, "How dare you?!" I turn to see Joy slap Patricia across the face. The red haired girl looks shocked before running out of the room. She angrily pushes past me and flings open the front door.

A deathly silence hangs over us all. It is only broken by Patricia slamming the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: hey guys :3 um, here's another update aha! Sorry it's shorter than the last two but yeah... By the way, I have the first twenty chapters of this written out so I'm really excited to keep posting. It might be a bit slow at the moment but I'm just trying to set the ball rolling and get it properly started. If I start to write a bit more often then I could maybe update a couple of chapters a week but I make no promises aha. Um, thank you so much for all the reviews and I love you all! :D enjoy the chapter:3 **

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**September 5th 2012**

"I'd better go after her." Eddie says, jogging into the hallway. "Hey yacker! Come back!" He yells as he opens the front door. I turn around and see Fabian running in.

"What's the matter? I heard shouting.." he asks, taking a shaking Joy into his arms. Joy begins to cry softly into his chest and he looks around in shock.

"Patricia and Joy had an arguement. Joy slapped Patricia." Amber says calmly.

"Yeah, it was awesome!" Alfie continues enthusiastically. Joy looks up and her tearful eyes meet Alfie's. Even in tears she still manages to look menacing.

"Not good timing Alfie." Fabian says stiffly, rubbing Joy's back consolingly.

"Thanks Joy." I say quietly, walking over to the petite girl and giving her a quick hug. She holds onto me tightly and cries in my shoulder whispering, "Patricia will never forgive me."

"How about we all go and watch a film." Amber suggests happily. Joy nods slowly and lets go of me, standing on her tip-toes and kissing Fabian on the cheek.

"Thanks Fabes." She says, smiling through her tears. He looks surprised but then wraps his arms around her.

"Anytime." I think I hear him whisper.

"What about the food?" Alfie asks, gesturing towards the salmon, peas and salad.

"How about we finish eating /then/ go watch a film." Jerome suggests.

"Sounds like a plan." Joy says, beginning to sound more like herself again.

I slip back down into my seat next to Jerome and begin to cut up my food and daintily spoon it into my mouth. Slowly, the conversation begins to flow naturally again and we all begin to laugh and joke as if nothing ever happened.

After we have finished eating, we all leave the table and head up to Amber's room. The sight of an empty bed quickly makes us want to leave the room so we go into Fabian and Eddie's room.

Fabian seems quieter than usual and is more subdued than he was before. I'm guessing that he's thinking about Nina. Nina left at the end of the summer term. Her gran wanted to move back to America and Nina didn't want to abandon her so she went with her. Amber and Fabian were affected the most by her leaving. I never really knew her, we weren't exactly friends but she seemed nice. However, I can't help but be sad whenever I go in her old room and see the half-empty room.

Fabian quickly hooks his laptop up to the old television in his room and then the predictable argument about what film to watch begins.

"We have to watch zombie attack 3!" Alfie says, pretending to be a zombie and acting out getting shot by Jerome.

"Eww.. No!" Amber replies, "What about confessions of a shopaholic."

"No way Amber." Fabian says, still focusing on wiring up the TV.

"What about Twilight?" Joy suggests, leaning over to help Fabian. Most of the others in the room shake their heads apart from Amber who screeches in delight.

"Why don't we do a vote?" I say, sitting down next to Jerome.

Twilight gets 2 votes, confessions of a shopaholic gets 1 and the zombie film gets 3.

"Victory!" Alfie yells, placing the DVD in the slot.

As the title credits roll across the screen, Jerome pretends to yawn and wraps his arm around my shoulders, winking at me in the semi-darkness. Amber is curled into Alfie's side, already pressing her face into his chest, his protective arms wrapping around her. Joy sits next to Fabian and is staring at the screen, half in terror, half in fascination.

By the time that the first zombie has appeared, Fabian is clutching Joy's arm tightly and I have snuggled closer to Jerome, hiding my face in his shoulder. He looks down at me and chuckles softly, kissing the top of my head. I hear a scream from the TV and Alfie, Joy and Jerome all laugh. I look up from Jerome's shoulder and meet Amber's terrified eyes. The two of us simultaneously turn to look at the screen for a while before a headless zombie runs towards the camera causing us both to scream and bury our faces into our boyfriend's chests.

I stay like that until the end of the film, only daring to look up once I hear the familiar sound of the ending credits.

"I don't know why you voted for that film if it scares you so much Fabes." Joy says to a shaking Fabian, trying to get him to let go of the pillow he is clutching tightly. Amber kisses Alfie on the cheek quickly but whispers to him in an angry voice, "Alfred Marmaduke Lewis, if you make me suffer through that torture again I'll.. I'll.. I don't know what I'll do but it'll be good." she finishes lamely.

"So it was torture being snuggled up to me for an hour?" Alfie replies jokily but we can all see the self-consciousness underlying it.

"Of course not boo." Amber says, snuggling back into him, "I love being with you." Alfie visibly relaxes and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Fabian's bedroom door swings open quietly and I look up to see Patricia and Eddie standing in the doorway.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: hi again guys! Um, there'a more jara in this chapter so hopefully it'll be a bit better. I've seen gifs of Jerome in the next episode ( I don't want to post what happens in case of spoilers) and I'm writing copious amounts of jara fanfiction as a coping mechanism. To everybody has reviewed so far: thank you, I appreciate every single one! **

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**Saturday 5th September 2012**

"Patricia.. I'm so sorry." Joy says quietly, bursting into tears again. She jumps up and hugs Patricia tightly, her tears stopping slowly.

"Hey, it's fine. Calm down Joy. It's all okay." Patricia replies, wrapping her arms tighter around her best friend. Joy releases Patricia and sits back down next to Fabian, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Patricia and I meet each others eyes. "I'm sorry Mara. What I said was out of line... Friend's?" Patricia says, looking apologetic and confident at the same time. I feel.. Conflicted. Of course I want Patricia as a friend but the things she said to me were really hurtful. I instinctively look to Jerome and he shrugs lightly, softly squeezing my hand in a reassuring way.

"Friends." I reply with a smile, patting the space next to me to gesture that her and Eddie should come and sit down. The two of them sit down and we all began to chat amongst ourselves.

Jerome lets go of my hand and trails his fingers along my chin, tilting my face upwards and capturing my lips in a soft kiss. My eyes flutter closed and I lift one hand to twist my fingers into his soft hair. Slowly the kiss deepens and I feel his tongue slide across my bottom lip, his teeth grazing them slightly. I open my mouth and shuffle closer to him, pressing my left hand against his chest and feeling the steady thrum of his heart underneath my hand. His heart begins to beat faster and the soft thumping cause flutters inside of me. I feel so close to him right now and even as we pull away from the kiss, with the tips of our noses touching and eyes locked with each others, I still feel as close as possible to him.

In the semi-darkness of the room, his skin seems paler and his blue eyes are more prominent. His hair is tousled slightly and my hand is still twisted into it. I can still feel the steady thrumming of his heart under my hand and my heart is beating in time to his. Jerome's mouth is slightly open, his full lips slightly swollen from our kiss. He looks so beautiful yet young and vunerable at the same time.

"I love you so much." I whisper to him, as if speaking loudly will break the softness of the moment. We are both oblivious to the others around us. I can only focus on Jerome. His eyes widen slightly and he places his hand over mine. It suddenly hits me that I _am_ ready for this. I'm old and mature enough to love Jerome fully. The only thing holding me back is fear but now I'm not scared anymore. Jerome will never hurt me. He loves me and I love him.

"I'm ready." I whisper softly, taking my hand out of his hair and rest it on his thigh. His eyes widen again and he opens his mouth in shock and confusion.

"Are you sure?" He replies, uncertainty clear on his face.

"Yes." I answer, leaning forward and kissing him again. His lips are soft and familiar against mine and it comforts me. He pulls away and stares at me with a look of wide-eyed amazement.

"It is ten o clock!" Victor, pulling us out of our trance, "You have five minutes precisely and then I want to hear a pin drop." Jerome stands up and offers me his hand. I take it and he pulls me up onto my feet. I yawn slightly and tightly grip his hand as we leave Fabian's room. "Night Mara." he says, softly kissing my lips before walking to his room with Alfie.

Us four girls hurriedly scurry past an angry looking Victor and head upstairs. Amber pushes open the door to her room and wavers slightly, turning back to Patricia, Joy and I with a fake smile. "Night guys." She says quietly.

"Night Amber." The three of us chorus, exchanging worried glances when she shuts the door. I walk over to her door and open it, peering in.

"Amber?" I ask, fully opening the door. She is sitting on Nina's old bed, holding a photo of the two of the laughing and smiling together. I quickly walk over to her and wrap my arm comfortingly around her shoulder, "Are you okay?" I ask softly.

"I miss Neens." She says quietly before bursting into tears. I rub her arm comfortingly and she drops her head onto my shoulder, tears dripping onto my pale cardigan. I look up and meet Joy's anxious eyes and shoot her an 'I can handle this' look. Silently she shuts the door and I hear the two of them walk back to our room.

"Shush Amber. It's okay. Nina wouldn't want you to cry." I say comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry Mara, I've been such a bad friend to you. I let Mick come between us." Amber answers, hugging me tightly.

"That was all my fault. Mick was out of bounds and I shouldn't have gone after him. I'm sorry." I reply, hugging her back just as tightly, feeling close to tears myself.

"I guess we're both sorry." Amber says with a slight laugh, wiping her tears away. I smile at her, pulling away from the hug. The two of us automatically look around the half-empty room and Amber looks close to tears again.

"Do you want me to stay in here with you tonight? So that you're not alone." I ask, taking Amber's hand. She smiles brightly and nods enthusiastically.

"I'll just go get into my pyjamas and I'll be through in a minute." I say, leaving the room quietly and tiptoeing along the landing. I open the door to my room and see Joy and Patricia staring at me expectantly.

"She's upset over Nina leaving." I say, collecting my pyjamas off my bed. Joy nods knowingly and Patricia rolls her eyes, pulling her duvet over her shoulders.

"I'm going to stay with her tonight." I continue, walking towards to door.

"Have fun." Joy chirps, climbing into her bed and switching off her bedside lamp. I smile at Joy and whisper, "Good night." before leaving the room and creeping down the corridor towards Amber's room.

I quietly open the door and see Amber waiting for me by her bed. She grabs a spare duvet from the bottom of her bed and spreads it across Nina's bed, handing me one of her pillows to sleep on. I quickly slip into my pyjamas and climb into bed, switching off the light.

"I feel a lot better now that you're here Mara." Amber says softly. I feel my insides warm up with happiness.

"I'm glad." I reply, rolling over so that I can get comfortable. "Night Amber."

"Good night Mara." She answers.

I close my eyes and slip into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hi again :3 this chapter isn't very jara heavy and I apologise for that, however, it has a lot of friendship and it's quite long. I promise the story will speed up soon and I apologise of its boring. Enjoy the chapter ~Erin **

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**Sunday 6th September**

I wake up from my sleep feeling refreshed and energised. Light is streaming through the curtains but it's hitting me at the wrong angle. Normally in my bed the light hits me on the bottom of my bed- Oh, right, I'm in Amber's room. That makes sense now. I stretch my arms and yawn quietly, checking the clock and I slide out of bed. It's 9:30am so I leave the room quietly, trying not to wake Amber and walk down the stairs into the downstairs hallway. I hear voices in the kitchen and wander over to it, finding Eddie eating a huge bowl of cheesy nachos whilst talking to Joy about why they were healthy enough for a breakfast.

"But, cheese is made of diary and that's essential for bone growth." Eddie protests, taking a Dorito crisp out of his bowl and shoving it into his mouth.

"It's not the same." Joy replies, looking slightly disgusted at the way Eddie is shovelling the crisps in.

"Joy's right. It is unhealthy Eddie." I say, cutting into their conversation.

"Oh, hey Mara." Eddie says, turning to face me. I walk across the the cupboard and pull a glass out, filling it with water. I take a big gulp of the liquid and it slides refreshingly down my dry throat. I run my moist tongue over my dry lips and push my hair back off my face.

"But the potato chips.. That you Brits call crisps, are made of starchy potato stuff, kinda like cereal. Then the cheese is dairy like milk so really I'm having a bowl of cereal." Eddie says causing Joy and I to burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" A smooth voice from the doorway asks. I turn to see my gorgeous boyfriend lounging against the doorframe, hands in his trouser pockets. He looks impeccable in a striped shirt and opened waistcoat, with his hair brushed perfectly and it makes me feel a little underdressed in my spotty pyjama bottoms and plain purple T-Shirt.

"Eddie is trying to convince us that cheesy nachos are an okay breakfast." Joy says to him with a wide smile. Jerome chuckle under his breath and wanders over to me, kissing my forehead lightly.

"Morning Mara."

"Hey." I reply, wrapping my arms around his waist, pressing my face into his chest.

"Aw, look at you Jerry. You've gone soft." Eddie says. I look up to see Jerome smirk at the American.

"Ooh, Morning my lovelies." Trudy says, walking into the kitchen and taking some bowls out of the cupboard. "Why don't you go and sit down at the table and I'll make some breakfast." She continues with a cheery smile.

"Would you like some help Trudy?" I ask, stepping out of Jerome's warm arms.

"That would be very nice Mara dearie. Could you just chop up some of the fruits for a fruit salad?"

"Of course." I reply, picking up a few apples, some pears and an orange. I watch as Jerome, Joy and Eddie go and sit down in the dining room at the dinner table. I quickly chop the orange and make sure to avoid the juice squirting out of it. Then I slice the apples and pears, putting them in the plastic red bowl that Trudy has given me. I walk over to the fridge and pull the water melon out, cutting a big slice out of it and chopping that up, adding it to the bowl.

"Thank you Mara." Trudy says as she piles the first of the bacon onto a plate. I grab the bacon and the fruit and take it through to the dining room, placing in the middle of the table along with a loaf of bread and some butter. Eddie jumps up and grabs the tomato ketchup out of the kitchen throwing it to Jerome who catches it effortlessly and squirts some in his bacon sandwich. I slip down into my usual seat next to Jerome and spoon some fruit salad into my bowl and begin eating slowly.

"Ooh bacon." Alfie says happily, walking through into the dining room and sitting down opposite me, grabbing a couple of rashers and slipping them into bread. The five of us eat quietly for a while, enjoying the food that Trudy made for us.

"Woah Joy, you really can eat, can't you." Eddie says to Joy who is finishing off her third bacon sandwich and is reaching for some fruit salad.

"Says you, Mister 'I'm-going-to-eat-cheesy-nachos-and-three-bacon-sandwiches'." Joy replies, slapping Eddie's arm lightly and chuckling at his fake wincing.

"You better not have eaten all the bacon slimeball." Patricia says from the doorway, grabbing a piece of bread and putting two rashers of bacon in her sandwich.

"Calm down Yacker, there's enough to go around." Eddie replies, making himself another sandwich. I lean over and grab a bacon rasher, sliding it into a whole meal bap and putting a little bit of ketchup on it. The bacony taste explodes in my mouth and I sigh contentedly, chewing eagerly on my sandwich.

Amber walks into the room, already dressed in a pink dress with a pale cardigan and a pair of white heels. "Morning." She says to us all, sitting down in her normal seat next to Jerome. We all greet her quietly and I smile at her. She smiles back widely and then begins to speak, "So, I really want to go shopping today. Does anybody want to come?"

"I'll come." Joy says with a smile. Amber looks me with a pleading expression.

"I don't know Amber.." I say uncertainly.

"Please..." She answers.

"Fine." I reply smiling slightly, unable to to resist Amber's puppy dog face.

"Yay!" She says, clapping her hands excitedly. "Go get dressed then." I stand up and push my chair under the table, smiling at Jerome before I take my plate through to the kitchen. I hear Joy protesting about leaving her bacon but then she enters the kitchen behind me, dropping her plates into the water-filled sink.

The two of us troop upstairs to our room and head straight over to our wardrobe's, deciding what to wear. Joy settles for a patterned skirt and black vest top with a black cropped cardigan over the top. I pull on a pair of grey jeans and a loose red top with red ballet flats. I clip back the front part of my hair and grab my bag with my purse in, following Joy out of our room. We head down the stairs and pass Fabian who is on the phone. "You're right Nina." He says, waving at us as we walk past him. Joy's smile drops slightly but I link my arm through hers and she shoots me a determined look.

The two of us walk into the living room to find Amber waiting on the sofa, sitting in Alfie's lap and clearly ignoring Jerome and Alfie's conversation.

"Yay, you're here! There's a taxi on it's way, it should be here in five minutes." She says happily. I sit down next to Jerome and he wraps his arm around my shoulder. Joy sits next Alfie and starts talking to Amber about the best shops to visit. I listen to what Alfie and Jerome are saying.

"So then we chuck the bucket of sludge." Alfie says, nodding eagerly. Jerome smiles lazily at him and settles back into the sofa happily.

"Why not rig the sludge to fall on somebody?" I say, ignoring their shocked looks, "That way, you can be way out of the target range and you can get far away from the scene of the crime."

"Well.. You could I suppose.." Alfie says.

"But surely somebody would be expecting a typical bucket over the door prank." Jerome counters. This is what I love about our relationship. The discussions that we have and the way that we can easily oppose each other.

"Then you have a trick bucket." I answer.

"A what?" Alfie says looking confused.

"A trick bucket. You put a bucket with some feathers or something rubbish over the door and the person getting pranked thinks that's it... Until they open the next door and a load of unexpected slop falls on them." I say confidently watching as Alfie's expression moves from confusion to 'that's quite good actually'. Jerome smirks at me.

"Who'd have thought it. Innocent little Mara, a prankster." He says to me, kissing my cheek, he then moves his head so his mouth is by my ear and whispers, "Not innocent for long." so quietly that only I can hear. He pulls away from me and winks as I begin to blush. Alfie looks thoroughly confused but he wraps his arms around Amber and holds her close to him. She turns and lightly kisses his forehead.

Trudy comes rushing in saying, "Your taxi is here!" and us three girls all stand up and grab our bags. I lean down and kiss Jerome on the lips, savouring the feeling of his soft lips against mine. "Come on Mara." Joy says slightly bitterly, grabbing my elbow and dragging me away from Jerome. I wave at the two boys before leaving the house. Amber sits in the front of the taxi while Joy and I slip into the back. I settle down into the worn leather seat and pull my mobile phone out of my bag. There are two unread messages and I open the first one from my dad.

_Hello pumpkin. Mum and I are going to be in Spain over your birthday so we won't see you. Have transferred £120 onto your bank account so you can buy yourself a present. See you in the Christmas holidays. Love and miss you pumpkin xx_

I smile as I read the text and realise that my birthday is only three weeks away. I'm so excited. I'm finally turning sixteen. The big one six. I'm going to have to save the money that they've given me though. I don't want to waste it too early. It's a shame that I won't be able to see them on my birthday but I'll see them in a couple of months in the christmas holidays. I quickly tap out a reply.

_Thanks for the money dad:) I hope you have fun in Spain! I'm going shopping with my friends, Joy and Amber, today but I won't spend it. I miss you too. Love Mara x_

I press send and open the second unread message, reading it quickly.

_Hey Mars. I've just got to our new house in Australia. It's huge! We even have a pool! But we're sharing it with another family. It's nice and warm here, unlike England haha :D I miss you all. How are things with you and Clarke? If he does anything bad just tell me and I'll fly straight over there and beat him up;) love Mick x_

I smile at the text and laugh at the end. Joy meets my eyes and I just say, "Text from Mick." she nods and then pulls her phone out of her bag.

"What did he say?" Amber asks from the front seat.

"That if Jerome didn't look after me, he'd fly over and beat him up." I reply with a laugh. Amber laughs quietly with me.

I am about to start typing a reply when Amber squeals, "We're here!" The three of us climb out of the car and split the fare. As we walk towards to shopping centre Amber pulls a notepad out of her bag.

"It's 11:12am now and Trudy said we have to be home by 6:00pm for dinner. So it took us fifteen minutes to get here and it took the taxi fifteen minutes to arrive. We have to call the taxi at 5:30pm and be out here waiting for it by quarter to six. Right. Operation shopping can begin!" Amber says causing Joy and I to stare at each other in astonishment.

"What? Shopping is serious business." Amber says indignantly. I roll my eyes and the three of us link arms and walk into the centre. There are three floors and loads of shops. Amber drags us over to lipsy and we begin to browse through the dresses. Joy finds a pale yellow knee-length dress with a lacy bodice part. Amber picks out a typical Amber dress: hot pink that has a tight skirt to above her knees. I find a dress that has a tight black top part with a floaty purple skirt that is floor length at the back and knee length at the front. My dress costs £52 so I use the money in my purse. Amber and Joy quickly pay and the three of us set out on an accessory hunt. Joy finds a pair of grey heels and some gold bracelets, Amber gets some black flat shoes with pink bows on them and a silver and pink ring and I get some black heels and some silver, purple and black bangles.

"Why are we buying this stuff?" I ask, as we walk into yo sushi to get our lunch. Joy and Amber exchange a look.

"What?" I ask suspiciously.

"Nothing!" Amber replies brightly, getting us a table. The three of us sit down and order our food, chatting idly about school, clothes and boys.

"So how are things with you and Alfie?" Joy asks Amber.

"Well... We only just started going out again yesterday but I've liked him for a long time now and I know he feels the same." Amber replies slightly dreamily.

"How about you and Jerome?" Joy asks me. Suddenly I feel nervous and embarrassed. I don't really like talking about myself, I prefer to listen to others and support them rather than go on about me.

"We're good... Well.. More than good." I remember the conversation Jerome and I had yesterday and quickly begin blushing.

"Ooh Mara, you're blushing.. What's going on." Amber says, leaning across the table towards me.

"We're going to.. You know.. /do it/." I say, whispering the last two words. Amber and Joy stare at me with looks of excitement and shock.

"Yay, Jara!" Amber says excitedly, collecting our food quickly and rushing back to the table. The three of us eat our sushi in silence for a moment.

"Have you and Alfie?" Joy asks, looking towards Amber.

"No." She replies with a small sigh, "Alfie isn't mature enough for that." Joy and I nod knowingly at her words. Even though we don't really know.

"I wish I had a boyfriend." Joy says sadly.

"Don't worry Joy. You are gorgeous. You'll get a boyfriend soon." I say comfortingly.

"Mara's right. Trust us." Amber replies with a smile.

"Thanks guys." Joy says happily, smiling brightly at the two of us.

We finish our food and browse around a few more shops. I buy a couple of pairs of jeans and green knitted jumper before we leave the shopping centre and Amber calls the taxi place. We wait in the entrance of the shopping centre for a few minutes before the sleek black car pulls up and we climb in.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I know I've not updated for a while, I've just been really busy :( I'm sorry. ****  
**

* * *

**Sunday 6th September**

As soon as we get home we put our shopping in our rooms and head down to dinner. I take my usual seat next to Jerome and Joy sits opposite me. Alfie and Jerome are deep in conversation so Amber just sighs and sits next to me instead.

"So how was shopping?" Patricia asks as she walks into the room, Eddie behind her.

"It was really fun!" Amber says happily, grabbing a plate off the pile and spooning some spaghetti bolognaise onto it.

"Well, we had fun this afternoon." Patricia says to Eddie, smirking at him. He slyly winks at her causing me to feel a little bit sick.

"Ugh, don't talk about it at the dinner table." Joy answers, looking visibly disgusted by what Patricia said. For once, instead of looking horrified, Amber looks slightly.. Wistful. Perhaps she does want Alfie more than she lets on. I spontaneously lean over and kiss Jerome's cheek, causing him to look at me, a slightly confused expression settling on his features. I just smile at him and scoop a forkful of spaghetti into mouth, feeling happy butterflies dance around in my stomach. Fabian chooses that moment to walk into the room and take his seat, commenting on how nice the food smells. We all chorus thank you's to Trudy and she smiles happily at us.

After dinner we all choose to relax in the living room for a while. Eddie sits on the end of the sofa with Patricia in his lap while Joy and Amber sit together on the floor by their feet. Jerome and I snuggle up together on the sofa next to 'Peddie' with his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Alfie hesitates for a moment before plopping down onto the floor next to Amber and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She sighs contentedly and leans her head onto him. Joy stands up and switches on the TV declaring that she gets to choose what we watch because she doesn't have someone to snuggle with. As she says this I notice faint tears in her eyes and her hands are slightly shaking. I exchange an anxious glance with Patricia but then Eddie interrupts us by opening his arms and saying, "Come here you petite British girl." Joy looks instantly towards Patricia who nods reassuringly. The small brunette walks over to Eddie and leans into his side with one of his arms around her shoulder. She looks happily over at me before passing the remote to Amber.

I wonder why Fabian didn't offer to sit with Joy? Oh, that's right.. He's gone off to talk to Nina on the phone again. No wonder Joy's so upset. Amber flicks through the channels until she finds a cheesy American rom-con and predictably leaves the film on.

The scenario's that the main characters are put in are so unrealistic that it's almost cringeworthy. The lead actress is acting like she has a fly in her eye, constantly batting her eyelashes like a camel in a sandstorm. The lead male is no better, he's constantly slipping out of his shirt and showing off his muscles. I look around the see Joy and Amber staring at him, practically dribbling over his 'extreme hotness' as Amber puts it. I can see a few flickers of jealously burning in Alfie's eyes but I decide not to meddle.

Two agonisingly cheesy hours later the film has _finally_ finished and Victor announces that it's ten o clock. The 7 of us troop out of the living room and head towards the stairs. Before I can climb the first step, Jerome takes me by the wrist lightly, his eyes shining happily as he drags me down to his room with Alfie. I turn and mouth good night to Amber who smiles at me before turning back to Joy to gush about how attractive the lead actor of the film was. Alfie's hands clench into fists and I pat him lightly on the shoulder, "Are you okay?" I ask worriedly.

"Amber?" Alfie says to his girlfriend.

"Yes boo." She replies, looking towards him.

"Can we talk?" he asks, a small amount of anger seeping into his voice.

"Uh, sure. Night Joy." Amber chirps, walking over to Alfie looking slightly worried.

Jerome carries on walking towards his room and I tail behind him, anxiously straining my wars to try and hearing what Alfie is saying to Amber. My gorgeous boyfriend flings open his bedroom door and beckons me in, the two of us sitting opposite each other on his bed.

"So.." I say, trailing off quietly, looking around the room awkwardly.

"I um, I just wanted to say that um. Only if you want to. I mean, it's your choice really." Jerome gabbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Just say what you need to say." I cut in, leaning forward and stroking his cheek reassuringly, "I won't judge."

"um, WhenDoYouWantToHaveSex.." he says in one breath, looking at his feet sheepishly. I feel my heart begin to race and a slow blush creep onto my cheeks. I try to speak but my words hitch in my throat.

Truthfully, I would have sex with him right now. I would. But I want my first time to be special. It sounds so cheesy and weird but I want it to be good. I don't want us to have sex for the sake of it, I want us to make love. I want us to share our mutual love for one another.

"Whenever feels right." I reply, leaning forwards again to kiss his lips softly. He looks up at me from under his thick lashes and I can see that his pupils are slightly dilated.

"How will we know when it's right?" he asks.

"We just will." I answer reassuringly, capturing his lips in mine once more. I crawl over to him and straddle him, continuing to kiss him. His tongue slips into my mouth and I can feel him smiling into the kiss. He slowly lies down so that I am lying on top of him, keeping myself balanced on my elbows with my legs between his. He groans quietly and flips up over, kissing gently down my neck. His lips feel soft and warm against my exposed neck and shivers run down my spine. I arch my back slightly and have to bite my lips to stop myself crying out in pleasure. My breathing speeds up as he kisses along the edge of my jaw and almost angrily in comparison, begins to kiss my lips again.

My hands slip under his shirt and I roam my trembling finger tips across his chest, following the hairline down his stomach. I can feel his weight pressing down on me and he softly grinds into me. My hips move in time to his and I feel the tension building around my centre. Our lips keep mashing together angrily as our bodies move in sync. With a deep gasp Jerome pulls away from me and rolls onto his back, leaving me to cool down. I breath deeply through my nose and try to slow my racing heart. My lips sting slightly and I can tell that my hair is completely mussed up. I roll onto my side and wrap one of my arms around Jerome's warm waist, snuggling my face into his chest. He wraps his right arm around me and leaves his hand resting lightly on my hip.

The two of us lie together in the calm peace for a while, slowing our breathing down until we are back to our normal pace. I stretch up and kiss his cheek lightly, feeling warmth spread through me. A huge smile appears on my face and Jerome peers down at me, a bemused expression on his still slightly flushed face. I sit up and kiss his lips softly before pulling away and staring deep into his ice blue eyes. Most people think that his eyes are scary but to me, they are the most beautiful eye's I've ever seen. They seem to sparkle now and I can easily get lost in them: I could lie here staring into his gorgeous eyes forever.

"I love you." I whisper quietly, taking his hand in mine.

"I love you too." He replies, equally softly, squeezing my hand.

Suddenly, the door bursts open, revealing a very passionate looking Amber and Alfie. Alfie is trying to support Amber, who has wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing his lips angrily. I don't think the two of them even notice Jerome and I as Alfie somehow manages to close the door and lays down on the bed, Amber squirming happily beneath him. The two of them continue their passionate kissing and Amber is just about to pull of Alfie's shirt when Jerome coughs loudly.

The two of them break their kiss and turn towards us slightly sheepishly, looking shocked that we are there.

"Look mate, as happy as I am for you, can you please not do the heavy making out in here. This is a make-out free room." Jerome says, winking at me.

"Oh, so you and Mara have been doing a crossword puzzle or something." Alfie replies, a knowing smirk spreading across his face. I feel my cheeks redden slightly as I stand up and let go of Jerome's hand.

"Good night Jerome." I say quietly, kissing his forehead lightly.

"Night Jaffray." He replies, smiling at me.

"You coming Amber?" I ask, eyeing the flustered looking blonde.

"Yeah." she says with a smile, "Night boo!" She chirps to Alfie, kissing him quickly on the lips as she straightens her rumpled clothing.

As the two of us leave the room I vaguely think that I hear the two boys high-fiving and congratulating each other.

"Boys." Amber says with a small smile, flicking her hair and rolling her eyes jokily.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hi guys. Sorry I haven't updated this in ages I've just been really busy. Also, I haven't been watching series 3 (because it's not on in England yet) so I'm having trouble wriing later chapters and getting the characters right. ****  
**

**Updates will probably be slow for a while because I have exams in the summer and I'm spending a lot of time revising for them. This chapter is a bit boring but I promise the story will speed up a bit once I get to the really interesting real plot bits. Thank you so much for all your reviews, favourites and follows, they mean so much to me. You're all awesome. **

* * *

**Monday 7th September**

I'm rudely woken up from my sleep by Patricia shaking my shoulder and yelling, "Get up. You're going to be late for school." I just snuggle into my pillow until it hits me that I actually am going to be late for school. I sit up and feel a wall of pain hit me so I collapse onto my bed. My head begins to pound and a wave of dizziness rolls over me. I groan slightly and crawl out of my bed, cursing the head rush I got from sitting up too fast. I open my eyes wearily at glance at my clock, it's 7:37am, I have just enough time to grab some breakfast.I quickly get dressed into my regulation school uniform and brush my hair, adding some mascara to my eyelashes and a thin layer of eyeliner under my eyes. I grab my school bag off my bed post and leave my room quietly, pulling the door shut behind me.

I walk quickly down the stairs and slip into the dining room, taking my usual seat next to Jerome. "Morning." I say to him, kissing his cheek and flashing him a smile. He grins back before continuing to flick grapes at the back of Alfie's unsuspecting head. I roll my eyes fondly and turn to Joy as I grab some cereal and pour it into my bowl.  
"Morning." Joy says to me as she spoons cereal into her mouth.  
"Did you sleep well." I ask politely, adding milk to my cereal bowl.  
"Yeah, it was okay." She replies almost grumpily as she smushes her Cheerios with her spoon.  
"Are you okay Joy?" I ask worriedly.  
"I'm just sick of all this couple stuff you know." She says, throwing her spoon down in exasperation, "There's you and Jerome, Amber and Alfie, Patricia and Eddie, Fabian and Little miss America. Then there's me."  
"Joy, you'll find somebody, I promise." I reply, reassuringly resting my hand on her shoulder. I feel a pang of sympathy for Joy and she looks at me sadly.  
"But what if I don't?" She asks, insecurity and vulnerability underlying her words.  
"You will." I answer truthfully. Joy smiles at me before picking up her spoon and eating her cereal again. I do the same until I feel a tap on my arm. Jerome stands up and offers me his hand which I gladly take.

He takes our empty bowls through to the kitchen and I look across to Joy. "Hey Joy, do you want to walk with us?" I ask.  
"Yeah, that'd be great!" she replies happily, running upstairs to grab her bag and blazer. Jerome takes my hand again and the two of us walk into the hallway, waiting for Joy at the bottom of the stairs.  
"You're so kind Mara." he says to me, running his fingers along the bottom edge of my jaw. I smile at him and feel happy butterflies flutter around inside of me.  
"I love you Jerome."  
"I know you do." He replies with his signature smirk before kissing my nose softly.  
"Last night was.. Nice." Jerome says, finishing off the sentence awkwardly. I just smile at him and look up to see Joy hurtling down the stairs.  
"Let's go!" She chirps excitably, linking arms with me.

The three of us walk to school effortlessly chatting about the randomest of things, like Jerome's fear bats and Joy's bad experience with a shop dummy. The whole walk to school is full of laughter and happiness. I love every second of it. I'm so thankful for my friends and boyfriend.  
"I don't know where I'd be without all of you from Anubis." I say to Jerome and Joy as we walk into science.  
"Me neither." She says, taking a seat next to Patricia who has clearly just finished having a heavy make out session with Eddie. I can tell because her hair is really messy and her lips are slightly chapped. That and the smirks that the two of them ate throwing to one another. I sit down in an empty seat and Jerome sits behind me, the two of us waiting for Amber and Alfie respectively.

* * *

School passes relatively quickly and soon it's time to head home. I walk back home with Jerome and Alfie because Amber and Joy have got planning to do. I don't know what it is they're planning and they won't tell me or let me help. It's all very suspicious. Jerome pulls me out of my musings by grabbing my hand and wrapping his fingers securely around mine. I smile widely at him and lean my head on his shoulder slightly as we walk past the Frobisher library.  
"Sorry about last night." Alfie says, blushing slightly and looking at his feet.  
"It's fine Alfie." I chuckle, hitting his shoulder playfully. He looks up and grins at me, all of his former embarrassment gone and he jogs ahead.  
"Let's have a race!" Alfie yells excitably, waving his arms around like a little kid.  
"Aww, do we have to?" I complain, dragging my feet tiredly along the grass.  
"Jerome'll piggyback you!" Alfie replies with a grin. I look up at my boyfriend with a quizzical expression on my face but he just motions for me to climb onto his back. I easily scramble onto him and settle myself comfortably on the top of his hips. His arms wrap securely around my legs and I wind my arms around his neck.  
"Ready?" Alfie says, getting into a start position.  
"GO!" Jerome suddenly sets off running and I immediately feel myself slipping down his back. I try to hitch myself up without falling off and just end up sliding down even further. The two of us burst out laughing as I slide further and further down his back, the wind whipping my hair back and projecting my laugh across the field. "Come on Jerome, you can do it!" I exclaim joyously and my boyfriend charges towards the front door, breathlessly panting as he runs up the steps.

The front door flings open and Jerome staggers through, unceremoniously dropping me before collapsing onto the floor himself. Alfie offers me his hand and pulls me to my feet, the two of us chuckling slightly at the panting Jerome. Simultaneously all three of us burst out laughing. Huge laughs that reverberate around in your stomach and cause tears to drop out of your eyes. The kind of laughter that leaves you breathless, which isn't too good for Jerome.

After we manage to gain some composure, the three of us go and sit in the living room, Jerome and I grabbing books and Alfie predictably turning the TV on. The three of us sit together in companionable quiet, the faint murmur of the TV on slightly interrupting my reading of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. I hear loud voices and look up to see Joy and Amber in the doorway, a large pink notebook held between them as they jot stuff down into it. "Mara!" They both say simultaneously, snapping the notebook shut.  
"Hey." I reply, suspicion casting we to frown slightly.  
"Don't frown, you'll get premature wrinkles." Amber says, sitting on Alfie's lap and kissing him on the cheek. Joy sits next to me and manages to sneak the remote off Alfie while he is kissing Amber. She quickly changes the channel to MTV and we watch 'sweet sixteen' for a while.

Trudy calls us for dinner, so the five of us get up and sit down at the table, waiting for the others to arrive before we start eating. Patricia and Eddie saunter in with their hands linked, chatting noisily about something he said to one of the teachers. Fabian scuttles in last, clutching a text book to his chest as he takes the seat next to Joy. She smiles widely at him and he waves politely before serving himself some mashed potato. We all each slowly, appreciating every mouthful of Trudy's cooking. Amber politely turns down the potatoes saying that she is on a low carb diet. Alfie just tutts and spoons some onto her plate saying that she is beautiful and doesn't need to go on a diet. "  
Aw, thank you boo!" Amber squeals, kissing Alfie's cheek lightly causing him to blush. I smile fondly at the two of them before returning to my food, delicately eating the roast beef.

After dinner, Jerome and I head up to my room and attempt to do today's homework but he's so distractingly good looking that it's difficult to force myself to work and not kiss his soft, chapped lips- Focus Mara.  
"Algebra." I say suddenly.  
"Pardon?"  
"I have algebra homework." I reply, grabbing my bag and pulling my text book out.  
"Have fun." Jerome says, kissing the tip of my nose lightly.

He lounges back on my bed as I begin to figure out the answers to the questions. I look up to see his bright blue eyes watching me and I feel warmth spread through me. I lock eyes with him and lean up to kiss his lips softly. His hand trails lightly as a feather along the bottom of my jaw and he holds my chin lightly while I twist my fingers through his hair, loving the luscious feeling of it on my hand. Our lips move together in sync, our heavy breathing speeding up. The two of us pull apart slowly and sit with our noses touching gently, staring into each other's eyes. His hand tightens on my chin as he smiles a genuine smile, one that he only smiles for me. I smile back at him brightly, leaning my face into his hand. I love him so much.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: hello everyone :) I know it's been a while! I bet you all hate me :L I'm so so sorry :( I had a lot of exams and I've been really busy! But it's the holidays now so I'll try my best to update regularly and finish writing this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter :3**

**I'm not sure if I mentioned how old Mara was turning but I want her to be seventeen :) so if I've changed the age then I'm sorry :)**

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**Saturday 27th September**

**-3 weeks later- **

The sun streams down onto my face as I blink repeatedly, forcing my eyes to open. I roll away from the harsh glare of the sun and check the clock. It's 10:00am on a Saturday morning. Perfect timing. Wait, am I forgetting something? Never mind.

I climb out of bed and change into a green knitted jumper and a pair of grey skinny jeans, leaving my hair curly for once and clipping back my fringe. I look across and see in surprise that Patricia isn't in bed. Joy's already up but that's no surprise, I just don't know why Patricia's up already. How very suspicious.

As I'm walking down the stairs, I suddenly realise what day it is. It's my birthday! My seventeenth birthday! I'm officially seventeen. I smile to myself as I jog down the last few steps, walking into the living room.

"Surprise!" my friends yell, jumping out from behind the kitchen table, their bright smiles causing me to smile wider.

"Happy Birthday Mara!" Amber yells happily, running over to me and hugging me tightly. Joy joins the hug and I laugh breathlessly as I hug the two of them tightly.

After Joy and Amber have let go, Alfie gives me a big card signed by all the house mates.

"Thank you everybody." I gush, beaming widely at them all. Jerome walks forward, taking my hand and leaning down to kiss my lips gently.

"Happy Birthday gorgeous." He says, smiling at me while Amber squeals about a 'Jara' moment. I beam up at him and squeeze his hand tightly savouring the happiness that is running through me.

"We made you breakfast!" Alfie says happily, guesturing towards the table. I walk over to it and sit in my usual seat. Eddie slides a huge plate of pancakes in front of me wile everybody else sits down. The top pancake has 'Mara' scrawled onto it in chocolate sauce. I smile happily and stab the pancake with my fork, chopping a small section of it off before eating it enthusiastically.

"Mmm, delicious!" I say, smiling widely at all of my friends, "Does anybody else want one? There are too many for me to eat." I say, laughing as Alfie, Eddie, Joy and Jerome eagerly raise their hands. The four of them grab plates out of the kitchen and I pass them each a couple of pancakes, leaving 2 on my plate.

They five of us dig in happily, all seven of us laughing and chatting together.

"Thank you so much!" I repeat as I push my plate away, completely stuffed.

"This is just the beginning." Amber says mysteriously, her grey eyes sparkling brightly. Confusion sweeps through me again but I decide to just go with the flow- How bad could it be?

Amber grabs my hand and Joy takes Patricia, leading the two of us out of the dining room. As I am dragged away I blow a swift kiss to Jerome which causes him to smirk at me. I shake my head lightly and roll my eyes, allowing myself to be dragged wherever Amber decides to take me. Joy and Patricia leave out of the front door and I see Eddie and Fabian sneaking out of the back before Amber whisks me up the stairs and into her room. The purple dress along with the accessories that I bought a few weeks ago, are lying on Nina's old bed.

I look up Amber suspiciously but she just smiles brightly at me and gestures for me to sit down. She begins to straighten my hair and I stop protesting quickly. What on earth is she doing?

Half an hour later, my hair is completely straight but then she turns on a curling iron and begins to curl the front parts of my hair. She takes the two piece and pulls then back across my head, fastening them down with clips, leaving some curls on the back of my head.

Then she sits me down in front of her huge mirror and begins to take out her beauty products. She has so many! Amber quickly spreads a thin layer of foundation across my face, before adding light blusher and mascara. She then applies false eyelashes, a thin layer of eyeliner on the lid of my eye and some sparkly grey eyeshadow.

She then orders me to get into the dress so instead of acting suspicious, like I am, I just pull the silky soft dress on, smiling at the feel of the soft material brushing my legs. I slip my jewellery on and look in the mirror.

I look beautiful. My hair is pulled back from my face and the eyeliner and shadow makes the brown in my eyes stand out. The dress is the perfect length on me as it floats out around me.

"Wow." is all I can say, "Thank you Amber."

"You're welcome Mara." She replies with a smile. "Now, help me get ready.. Please?" she says, batting her eyelashes. I roll my eyes fondly and grab some curling tongs, leaving her gorgeous blonde hair, soft and full of loose curls.

"Perfect!" she half-squeals, clapping her hands together and smiling with joy.

The next hour or so, we touch up our makeup and chat about boys, school work and.. Alfie.

"I really want to.. You know." Amber says, looking a little sheepish.

"It's fine, I know _exactly_ what you mean." I reply, blushing and sighing.

"Well, you are sixteen now. It could happen." Amber says with a wistful smile.

"I guess." I reply, smiling widely at her, "I mean, we have been doing more stuff recently."

"Ooh, like what?" Amber asks, her face alight with excitement.

"Just.. Um." I say, embarrassment preventing me from speaking, my cheeks turning bright red.

"Mara, tell me." Amber whines, "I won't judge."

"Okay.. I um, gave him a blowjob." I answer, whispering the last few words as I bury my face into a pillow. Amber cringes but looks slightly proud of me at the same time.

"I could never do that.." Amber says, "Me, put Alfie's genitals anywhere near my mouth! Not going to happen!" I shudder slightly at Amber's bluntness but honestly, if situations were reversed, I'd say the exact same thing.

Suddenly the two of us burst into a random fit of laughing, grasping our sides with our hands as tears stream down my face.

"Oh Mara, your make-up." Amber complains weakly, still laughing quietly. She pulls me off the bed, over to the mirror and desperately tries to fix my make-up whilst the two of us hold back the laughter, occasionally chuckling every now and again.

As I check the clock, I realise that it's 3:00pm already. How did we waste so much time just sitting in Amber's room? I play with my hair self consciously and sit down on Amber's bed, catching the fashion magazine she throws me. It's not a particularly entertaining one and all of the models are stick thin with over airbrushed faces and perfect hair.

"Um, Amber?"

"Yes." She replies, flicking her hair and looking up from her fashion magazine.

"Can I go get my book?" I ask, smiling politely.

"I'll go get it for you." She chirps, "What book is it?"

"Pride and Prejudice." I reply.

"Sounds really boring." She answers as she skips out of the room. I hear her heels tap down the stairs and I smile to myself as I wait for her to return.

A minute later, Amber brings the book up to me and I smile happily at her, opening it to where my bookmark is. I read my book quietly; the only noise being made is the soft crinkle of the book pages and the rustle of Amber's magazine. A companionable silence falls over us as we read together, my heart aching slightly as I finish the book.

It's 5:30pm.. _already_? It seems like it was only a minute ago when Amber went to get my book. I look over to the blonde girl and see that she has fallen asleep on Nina's old bed while I was reading. She must not be getting much sleep on a night if she's falling asleep during the day. I pad across the room quietly and shake her arm softly, whispering her name. Amber sits up groggily, reaching up to rub her eyes sleepily before she remembers that she's wearing eye makeup.

"Thanks for waking me up Mara." Amber says a sleepy smile.

"It's 5:30pm."

"Already!?" Amber screeches, her thoughts clearly mirroring my own.

"Yeah." I reply, shrugging at her. Amber jumps, almost comically, off the bed and takes my hand, pulling me out of the room and down the stairs. I am pushed into the kitchen and read a note by a plate of spaghetti that says,

'Dear Mara. Enjoy the Spaghetti. Don't get any on your dress or I'll murder you. Your taxi arrives at 5:45pm exactly. Love Amber 3'

I look up in confusion as I hear the front door slam, "Amber!" I yell, running into the living room to see her jump into a taxi and drive away. I groan in annoyance and walk back to the spaghetti, eating it slowly and carefully until I hear the loud honking of a taxi horn.

I grab my handbag and leave the house, climbing into the taxi wondering 'Where the hell am I going?'.


End file.
